Furious AT&T customers have stormed local stores demanding answers from unwitting sales assistants over the recent network outage.
Video footage circulating on TikTok revealed lines of frustrated customers looking for answers after the network outage affected at least 70,000 phones.
“Everyone is going for the same thing,” said a cameraman, as he captured the busy store full of dissatisfied customers.
“That doesn’t answer anyone’s question,” a confused customer said to an employee at the counter who could provide no explanation.
Other viral videos showed workers at a loss for words as customers approached and demanded answers. “What do you want me to do?” an employee asked. “…You can all call the corporate world, Obama, Trump, Biden, go to Verizon.”
Earlier today, the company blamed the network outage, which knocked out at least 70,000 phones, on a “software update issue.”
Video footage circulating on TikTok shows lines of frustrated customers looking for answers after the network outage affected at least 70,000 phones
“Everyone is going for the same thing,” said a cameraman, as he captured the busy store full of dissatisfied customers
The company blames the network outage on a ‘software update error’
There was speculation that the issue may have been the result of a cyberattack, but the company said there was “no evidence of malicious activity.”
It remains unclear where the problem originated and despite AT&T’s assessment, both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI are investigating.
“Based on our initial assessment, we believe that today’s outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used to expand our network, and not by a cyberattack,” AT&T said.
“We are continuing our assessment of (the) outage to ensure we can continue to provide the service our customers deserve.”
It comes as tens of thousands of pharmacies across America are unable to deliver prescriptions to patients following a cyberattack on America’s largest health insurer, United.
The outage was first reported in the early hours of Thursday morning when customers were unable to make emergency calls. Multiple 911 centers reported users were unable to connect.
There were reports that other networks were affected, but this was believed to be due to failed attempts to call AT&T numbers.
Cyber experts told DailyMail.com that the problem had hallmarks of a cyber attack, possibly an attempt by hackers to blackmail the company or steal user data.
Other viral videos show employees at a loss for words when customers approach them demanding answers
The widespread nature, experts said, appeared comparable to “a massive Distributed Denial of Services (DDOS) attack on the core infrastructure of the Internet.”
With DDOS, cybercriminals attempt to crash a website or online service by bombarding it with a flood of unnecessary requests at the exact same time.
The surge of simple requests overloads the servers, causing them to become overwhelmed and shut down.
DDOS was deployed in 2016 when it disabled major sites like Netflix, Twitter, Amazon and PayPal for hours.
But the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reported that “the cause of the outage is unknown and there is no evidence of malicious activity.”
Although AT&T has said they are “working urgently” to resolve the issues, customers have poked fun at the service, which is considered one of the most expensive networks.
On social media, customers poked fun at the company over the outage, with some creating memes comparing the Netflix thriller “Leave the World Behind,” where all technology goes down as part of the plot.
Other customers, meanwhile, expressed their disdain over the outage and demanded refunds from the company.
No official reason has been given for the widespread drop in services, which in turn has fueled speculation on social media that hackers are behind the outage.
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile users reported early Thursday that they were experiencing network problems nationwide and in Canada
According to DownDetector, more than 70,000 customers had reported outages on the AT&T network
The largest number of issues were reported by AT&T users, peaking at 51,000 customers without service, before rising to over 70,000 an hour later
One person said: ‘Just SOS. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon outage. Leave the world behind trending?’
Another wrote: ‘Y’all ready to watch the movie ‘Leave the World Behind’ now? Or are you still holding on? AT&T/ US Cellular Outage/ SOS.”
One person shared a photo of Hunger Games character Katnisss Everdeen, saying: ‘Me after sending my last texts and leaving my WIFI-riddled house to run errands on ATT’s ‘American’s Oregon Trail provider’ wireless network .’
Another person posted a video of a child on a swing as a fire burns around him: “Verizon users while AT&T users are experiencing an outage.”
Another message says, “T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon and AT&T are all reporting nationwide outages, but I still have to get to this Zoom meeting at 9am.”
While another posted: “Hey AT&T, have you tried unplugging it, waiting ten seconds and plugging it back in?”
Despite some ridiculing the situation, other users demanded that the company refund them due to the power outage.